Posts in category 'books'
- Currently reading Children of Time (Children of Time #1.0) by Adrian Tchaikovsky (9781447273318)(https://b-ark.ca/OmOASa)
- Finished Leviathan Falls (The Expanse #9.0) by James S. A. Corey (9780316332910)(https://b-ark.ca/qkeEIO)
- Currently reading Leviathan Falls (The Expanse #9.0) by James S. A. Corey (9780316332910)(https://b-ark.ca/0U24Iw)
Review: The Lord of the Rings
Review of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (9780547951942)★★★★★
(https://b-ark.ca/UySwo6)25 years after I last read The Lord of the Rings the pandemic has given me a renewed appreciation for the book.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
From Sauron's fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.
When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.
The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.
There really is something truly unique about “The Lord of the Rings” (hereafter to be abbreviated “LOTR” because I’m way too lazy to type that out over and over). It’s well recognized that without J. R. R. Tolkien we might not have Brandon Sanderson or Robert Jordon or George R. R. Martin. But, at least in my own experience, even within the annals of high fantasy, Tolkien’s work is something special.
It had been at least 25 years since I’d last read the book. But I’d just come off of re-reading the Stormlight Archives and was waiting for the ninth Expanse book to come out, so it seemed like as good a time as any to return to Middle Earth to see how it held up.
And I’ll be damned if it isn’t still one of my absolute favourite books.
I have to wonder, though, if I would’ve felt quite the same way had I not read the book at this particular time in my life. Like the people of Hobbiton, we find ourselves facing a vague threat that permeates our lives and has profoundly changed the world in ways we can barely understand. It’s dizzying! And, like the end of the Third Age of Middle Earth, while I know that eventually this threat will diminish, the world will never return to the way it was. And maybe that’s okay.
Continue reading...- Finished Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive #4.0) by Brandon Sanderson (9780765326386)(https://b-ark.ca/8C4qAY)
- Currently reading Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive #4.0) by Brandon Sanderson (9780765326386)(https://b-ark.ca/cyg8SM)
Review: Project Hail Mary
Review of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (9780593395561)★★★★
(https://b-ark.ca/wIkCWK)As a fan of The Martian, Project Hail Mary is right up my alley: a hero in a desperate situation relying on science and ingenuity to survive. But it’s in the characters and relationships where this book excels.
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.
Or does he?
I’m a huge fan of the science fiction genre, but I’ll be the first to admit that it isn’t without its flaws. I’ve been known to say that a lot of authors in the genre get a little too caught up in their big ideas and forget that characters, you know, matter! The result is there are no shortage of sci-fi books in my DNF graveyard; books with shallow, unchanging characters who exist to just move the plot along.
I’ve not read a lot of books by Andy Weir–The Martian is the only other novel of his that I’ve tackled–but somehow Mr. Weir somehow manages to consistently escape this trap. While, in “Project Hail Mary”, science and the scientific method absolutely sit front-and-center, ultimately it’s the characters that truly shine through in this book. The result is a gripping, edge-of-your-seat story that has us cheering, hoping, and despairing as we’re shown what it truly means to be a hero.
As an aside, I want to note that the main reason this review exists is because my wife went and publicly called me out in her review of the book! Though now I feel like I’m encouraging her to publicly shame me, given it clearly produced results…
Continue reading...- Currently reading Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson (9781938570261)(https://b-ark.ca/q2qem6)
Review: Dawnshard
Review of Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson (9781938570261)★★★★
(https://b-ark.ca/8YwEy6)A novella in the Stormlight archives, we’re taken on a wonderful journey starring Rysn and Lopen, uncovering more mysteries of the Cosmere.
When a ghost ship is discovered, its crew presumed dead after trying to reach the storm-shrouded island Akinah, Navani Kholin must send an expedition to make sure the island hasn't fallen into enemy hands. Knights Radiant who fly too near find their Stormlight suddenly drained, so the voyage must be by sea.
Shipowner Rysn Ftori lost the use of her legs but gained the companionship of Chiri-Chiri, a Stormlight-ingesting winged larkin, a species once thought extinct. Now Rysn's pet is ill, and any hope for Chiri-Chiri’s recovery can be found only at the ancestral home of the larkin: Akinah. With the help of Lopen, the formerly one-armed Windrunner, Rysn must accept Navani's quest and sail into the perilous storm from which no one has returned alive. If the crew cannot uncover the secrets of the hidden island city before the wrath of its ancient guardians falls upon them, the fate of Roshar and the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.
Shipowner Rysn Ftori lost the use of her legs but gained the companionship of Chiri-Chiri, a Stormlight-ingesting winged larkin, a species once thought extinct. Now Rysn's pet is ill, and any hope for Chiri-Chiri’s recovery can be found only at the ancestral home of the larkin: Akinah. With the help of Lopen, the formerly one-armed Windrunner, Rysn must accept Navani's quest and sail into the perilous storm from which no one has returned alive. If the crew cannot uncover the secrets of the hidden island city before the wrath of its ancient guardians falls upon them, the fate of Roshar and the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.
When Mr. Sanderson’s Rhythm of War came out, I made the decision to go back and re-read the Stormlight Archives from the start in order to really immerse myself in the narrative before starting the new book. After months of re-reading (and once again loving every minute of it!) I finally did it! I was finally ready to start the new book!
I didn’t get very far before Navani made mention of a certain voyage upon which they discovered some new fabrial technology, and I realized, damnit, there was a novella and I should probably read this one (I have to admit I didn’t get around to fitting Edgedancer into my re-read… next time!) I guess I was gonna have to take a detour.
Well, I’m glad I did! Dawnshard really was a delightful little story in its own right, centering on a couple of side characters that really deserved some time in the spotlight. In the process, the book also introduced some important lore that I have no doubt will play an important part in the overall Stormlight narrative and the Cosmere more broadly.
Continue reading...Review: The Alloy of Law
Review of The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4.0) by Brandon Sanderson (9780765330420)★★★★
(https://b-ark.ca/qOmcUu)Set 300 years after the events of the first Mistborn trilogy, we are introduced to a whole new cast of characters in a world that has evolved since we last visited. A quick, compelling read and a great start to a new series!
Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.
Kelsier, Vin, Elend, Sazed, Spook, and the rest are now part of history―or religion. Yet even as science and technology are reaching new heights, the old magics of Allomancy and Feruchemy continue to play a role in this reborn world. Out in the frontier lands known as the Roughs, they are crucial tools for the brave men and women attempting to establish order and justice.
One such is Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn, who can Push on metals with his Allomancy and use Feruchemy to become lighter or heavier at will. After twenty years in the Roughs, Wax has been forced by family tragedy to return to the metropolis of Elendel. Now he must reluctantly put away his guns and assume the duties and dignity incumbent upon the head of a noble house. Or so he thinks, until he learns the hard way that the mansions and elegant tree-lined streets of the city can be even more dangerous than the dusty plains of the Roughs.
The Alloy of Law, set a few of hundred years after first Mistborn trilogy, introduces us to Wax and Wayne, two Twinborn lawmen who find themselves faced with a mystery, two Twinborn lawmen who find themselves faced with a mystery.
Set in the city of Elendel, this book kicks off a whole new story arc while showing us what happened to the world after our previous cast of heroes helped remake it.
Continue reading...